The beverage company will raise prices of its U.S. soft drinks because of higher tariffs on metal
By NACS Online
While Coca-Cola has seen higher drink volumes over the last quarter, the beverage company will increase the cost of U.S. carbonated soft drinks this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Coke attributes the higher prices to higher metals prices triggered by tariffs on Chinese imports.
“There is some broad-based push on input costs that have kind of come in and affected ours and many other industries as well,” said CEO James Quincey, adding he expects Coke bottlers will pass along the higher costs to retailers and consumers.
Coke has been adding seltzer and soy drinks to its lineup, while its revitalized Coke Zero Sugarhas posted positive sales this year. The company also added four new flavors to its Diet Coke line, in addition to offering slimmer cansin an effort to bolster sales. These changes give existing customers a reason “to stay and continue to enjoy the franchise, and it’s getting people to try it,” Quincey said.
The company also has been experimenting more overseas, such as testing its Coca-Cola Plus Coffee in Australia last year before launching the coffee-cola in Turkey and Vietnam. It’s also nixing underperforming brands and products, yanking 60% of them so far.
During the last quarter, drink volumes jumped 2%, with Coke-branded products boasting double-digit growth. Carbonated soft drinks saw a 2% volume hike, while enhanced water, sports drinks and plain water jumped 4% in volume.
